Prospect Info: NHL Entry Draft Discussion Thread - Looking Ahead to 2020

[daethfromabove1979]

Tim Stutzle Hype Reel - let me know what you guys think!

thought he was ambidextrous at the 0:27 mark of the video but the camera is just reversed.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I would like to see it in June but see some kind of mix between old Junior Rules (Like wjen Kadri was traded from Kitchener to London) and the expansion draft.

Allow teams to make trades at the draft involving "players to be names later" and then reveal those players after the conclusion a week or two after the Stanley Cup is awarded.

I think that answer comes after they figure out the playoffs. Why would they even bother figuring out the draft before they figure out the playoffs. Once you figure out the playoffs, it should be pretty easy to figure out when to do the draft.

 

[Ja Sports]

New hype reel on Seth Jarvis very underrated player (with one of the best names in the draft)

Let me know if you want another player covered next!

 

[Ja Sports]

New hype reel on Seth Jarvis very underrated player (with one of the best names in the draft)

Let me know if you want another player covered next!

Also smash that like button if you do enjoy the content it helps me out a lot

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

@Kiwi , @SeaOfBlue , @93LEAFS
Have you guys seen Daniel Baker? Was looking on draftsite's mock earlier and they have him as our selection in the 4th round. This was the write up on him.

6'4 LHD for the medicine Hat Tigers. Had 13 goals and 25assists in 62 games. This second year eligible Dub rearguard is an elite defensive defenseman with a long North-South stride. He wins races to attackers and loose pucks. Still has plenty of room to fill out his frame. Displays strong hard point shot, is a pro style passer and above average defensive positioning. His good boots project him as a really excellent project as a pro defender, and there is still the to continue adding more offensive zone growth.

We could use a Vlasic, Edmundson type of prospect. If you guys have seen him or heard anything about him, do you think this guy has the skill set to make the NHL one day?

 

[Knies iT]

Most probably haven't seen him, but does anyone have thoughts on Shakir Mukhamadullin? Massive, defensive LHD with a lot of scouts saying he has huge boom potential as a top pair guy. Seen him as low as the mid 3rd round, but more likely the late 2nd?

Very interesting project.

 

[weems]

I posted this in the prospects section but its one of the funnier sequences I've seen.

The prospect is Antonio Stranges

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

I posted this in the prospects section but its one of the funnier sequences I've seen.

The prospect is Antonio Stranges

The kid has good skating and puck skills but no brain. I've watched him play 3 times this year and almost every shift he has me saying what the hell is he doing? He always looks like he's showing off and then coughs up the puck. I'm personally not sure I would even draft him in the later rounds. Now his teammate Evangelista on the other hand I would draft. He seems to make all the right plays from what I've seen. Good vision. Seems like an Abramov type.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

@Kiwi , @SeaOfBlue , @93LEAFS
Have you guys seen Daniel Baker? Was looking on draftsite's mock earlier and they have him as our selection in the 4th round. This was the write up on him.

6'4 LHD for the medicine Hat Tigers. Had 13 goals and 25assists in 62 games. This second year eligible Dub rearguard is an elite defensive defenseman with a long North-South stride. He wins races to attackers and loose pucks. Still has plenty of room to fill out his frame. Displays strong hard point shot, is a pro style passer and above average defensive positioning. His good boots project him as a really excellent project as a pro defender, and there is still the to continue adding more offensive zone growth.

We could use a Vlasic, Edmundson type of prospect. If you guys have seen him or heard anything about him, do you think this guy has the skill set to make the NHL one day?

I think a lot of people have the skill set to make the NHL one day. Larger defensemen are in short supply in this draft, and he apparently can play on both sides. His scouting report sounds a lot like Marincin's from when he was 19:

Marincin is a lanky Slovak blueliner who is an excellent skater for his size and shows tremendous mobility. He uses his reach very effectively and his offensive instincts and skill set serve him well, both breaking out of his own zone and in a powerplay quarterback role. He can play with an edge (as was evidenced at the 2011 World Junior Championships) but is not overly physical. Since making the transition to the pro ranks, he has taken his game to the next level and was a real difference-maker in the for Oklahoma City in the 2013 AHL playoffs.

-Both need to fill out.
-Good offensive instincts and good at breaking the puck out.
-Strong in their own end.

It sounds like Marincin was a better skater with better positioning while Baker has a better (or at least harder) shot.

I personally do not have him on my board. Maybe he could slip in the later rounds, but the 4th is way too high IMO.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I posted this in the prospects section but its one of the funnier sequences I've seen.

The prospect is Antonio Stranges

Stranges is going to be one of those prospects which a bunch of casual hockey fans are going to be like "How was he not drafted higher, this guy is a stud", before they realize that he has a bunch of holes in his game and is mostly just flash. I still have him on my board (for now), but I probably would not draft him.

His offensive skill is probably 1st round quality, but yet his production is late round at best. He did decently well at ES (and only decently well), but only had 2 primary PP points and only 5 in total. For a guy whose entire game is offense, I would hope he could put up more PP points than guys who likely will never be given a single PP minute once they hit the pros, and he could not do that.

His defensive game is a straight fail. It is only hurting him, and is easily undraftable level. I think he has the IQ to make smart plays, but I think he is very selfish and cocky, which leads him to make stupid plays. I watched him at the Kubota CHL Top Prospects Game and I do not think it would be a stretch to say he was the worst forward, or even player, there by a decent margin. He made terrible play after terrible play and if he gets to that next level, I do not think he is going to be able to skill his way through his problems, and is essentially just going to be a negative player.

I think he is essentially in flyer territory. A team may take a chance on his skill and hope it works out, but I doubt the Leafs will. We find skill all over the place, and it is likely a lot more transferrable than Stranges'.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Most probably haven't seen him, but does anyone have thoughts on Shakir Mukhamadullin? Massive, defensive LHD with a lot of scouts saying he has huge boom potential as a top pair guy. Seen him as low as the mid 3rd round, but more likely the late 2nd?

Very interesting project.

He's a late first round prospect, so I doubt teams are dumb enough to let him drop to us. So if he is there, I doubt we are passing him up, unless teams are somehow dumb enough to let a prospect better than him drop to us too.

I think he can be a similar prospect to Sandin. Has everything you want: Smarts, physicality, good offensive arsenal, solid skater, etc. Like Sandin, he needs to work on some things to reach his potential (improve his skating, get stronger, make some better decisions against older and better competition, etc.), but he has top pairing upside and his floor is still high if he does not get there. He is easily the best Russian defenseman and I would possibly even say the best Russian prospect outside of Askarov, including Amirov.

 

[Stephen]

Curious how the stoppage will end up affecting the NHL transition of guys like Lafreniere and Byfield into the NHL. They won’t quite be as rushed as Hughes and Kakko, who are probably 2 of the worst first and second overall picks in quite some time, but they also won’t have the ability to work on their game and develop either from now until the next season starts. Interesting times we live in.

 

[Mickey Marner]

I'd throw one of our three 7th round picks at Stanges on the off chance he ever figures out what sport he's playing. But I imagine someone will scoop him up well before that.

 

[LaPlante94]

Watching this and then watching a few of his games on Youtube he'd be worth using a pick on in the mid to late round picks. Probably one of the better skaters in the draft but he really needs to get stronger because he can be very easy to knock off the puck.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Watching this and then watching a few of his games on Youtube he'd be worth using a pick on in the mid to late round picks. Probably one of the better skaters in the draft but he really needs to get stronger because he can be very easy to knock off the puck.

No thanks. Russians who are not part of their national team or some kind of good pro player at the time they are drafted typically do not turn out. All of the goalies were the starters on their national teams. Out of the 51 players who played in the NHL this past year, every single one of them had some kind of pro or national team experience (often both), excusing players who played in North America (and even then, the vast majority of them played on the national team), except 1: Ilya Mikheyev. He was a total outlier who really just exploded in his early 20's, and I believe he technically could have been drafted as a D+3 when he was a full time KHLer.

Not all of them met that criteria in their initial draft years, so some may have gone undrafted before being draft worthy as a D+1 or D+2. However, they were often the worst ones and there often is little benefit in trying to draft them earlier (when they did not meet the criteria or were underwhelming) since they often went late or undrafted in those subsequent years anyways.

So unless you want to bet on an outlier, I would not draft him. At least not this year.

---

If you are wondering "What about D+2 guys like Kulemin and Korshkov who we had to spend a 2nd round pick on? Or guys like Panarin/Zaitsev who went undrafted before becoming legit NHLers". We could have drafted them with a 7th rounder earlier, so we want to find those guys before they make it big. Korshkov was on the national team at 18 and played 24 KHL games (on a typically deeper KHL team) at 19. Now I would say his international record, combined with his junior record, was probably not worth drafting as a first year player, but 24 KHL games and a PPG+ Junior record as a D+1 was probably worth a flier later on. Kulemin too played on his international team as an 18 year old, but was probably not worth any kind of pick until he was apparently worth a 2nd rounder. Some guys just explode out of nowhere, but he did meet the criteria earlier on. For guys like Panarin, he played 20 KHL games in his DY and had 21 points in 40 KHL games as a 19 year old as a D+1, along with 5 points in 7 games at the U20's. So he should have been drafted by someone. Zaitsev played 40 KHL games in his DY and was on the U20 team as a 19 year old. Even had a good record in the U18's. Should have been drafted. Bobrovsky was given pro games in his draft year, which is already extremely rare and impressive, but more so than that is he was an amazing U20 goalie and was a full time pro goalie in the KHL at 19...

For some of the newbies like Artyom Zub, Alexei Melnichuk and (most importantly) Alex Barabanov, all three do meet the criteria. However, Zub only met it as a D+2 and Melnichuk was only playing in the VHL with very little national team experience, so while they do meet the criteria, their chances of becoming any kind of impactful NHLer are still fairly low since they were not all that spectacular within that criteria. Barabanov was somewhat unspectacular himself, but he did go almost a PPG in the U20's in his D+2 year, and we mostly just need him to be a solid bottom 6er so the expectations are not super high anyways. He can probably do fine.

If you follow the criteria, you can find good NHLers. That being said, there are ton of guys who meet the criteria and then suck. That is where good scouting, coaching and development comes in. And also, as is the case for guys like Zub, Melnichuk and Barabanov, you could be kind of fringy on the criteria and technically meet it but not be spectacular; those guys are less likely to make it than the guys who are amazing and likely end up going high up in the draft. After all, the later rounds are still a long shot for most prospects. The point is that if you do not meet the criteria, you are essentially doomed from the start. Many of the Russians who get drafted every year often do not meet the criteria at all, or not well enough where they shouldn't be considered even with a late round pick, and unsurprisingly turn into nothing. Why waste a pick when the odds are seriously against you, but then pass up on guys who meet the criteria and therefore have a much better shot at making the NHL.

For the record, the Russian leagues (KHL/VHL/MHL) typically have 15-20 prospects drafted from them per year. I currently have 14/183 prospects on my board coming from that league, and most of them are fringy. Ovechinnikov is not one of them.

 

[stickty111]

Bit of a random post, but it seems like in the NHL draft, you never see experts saying this team is connected to this player or likes this player. While in other leagues, you see people saying this team likes this player and likely to take him.
Maybe I'm wrong on this, but it doesn't seem to happen.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Most probably haven't seen him, but does anyone have thoughts on Shakir Mukhamadullin? Massive, defensive LHD with a lot of scouts saying he has huge boom potential as a top pair guy. Seen him as low as the mid 3rd round, but more likely the late 2nd?

Very interesting project.

My first thought is "name doesn't fit on jersey". LOL

 

[Duke16]

Bit of a random post, but it seems like in the NHL draft, you never see experts saying this team is connected to this player or likes this player. While in other leagues, you see people saying this team likes this player and likely to take him.
Maybe I'm wrong on this, but it doesn't seem to happen.

I wonder if that has to do with readiness. Many of the NFL and NBA picks make the team immediately, so it is alnost treated more as an FA situation. Every NHL pick outside of a select few is 2+ years away

 

[Knies iT]

Looking at some write ups on him it looks like consistency and defensive effort are what's hurting his draft stock

Although with his tools and size package you would think somebody would be willing to roll the dice on him before the 3rd round (which is where he seems to be projected)

This is the impression I get with Coe too.

He's a massive floater. Certain NB fans i've talked to say it's Kessel esque and his defensive effort is just not there. Consistency issues are the recurring theme in most scouting reports and although i'm usually not dissuaded by that, it seems to be an issue that's hindered him throughout his whole OHL career. He's disappeared for long stretches way too many times, so from the outside looking in, you might question his ability to adapt and learn.

He's still in a small pool of guys i'd like with the Leafs' 2nd rounder, but if i'm taking a cerebral player with consistency/effort issues, i'd rather sacrifice some of the size and go with higher skill.

 

[hockeynorth]

This is the impression I get with Coe too.

He's a massive floater. Certain NB fans i've talked to say it's Kessel esque and his defensive effort is just not there. Consistency issues are the recurring theme in most scouting reports and although i'm usually not dissuaded by that, it seems to be an issue that's hindered him throughout his whole OHL career. He's disappeared for long stretches way too many times, so from the outside looking in, you might question his ability to adapt and learn.

He's still in a small pool of guys i'd like with the Leafs' 2nd rounder, but if i'm taking a cerebral player with consistency/effort issues, i'd rather sacrifice some of the size and go with higher skill.

Honestly every time watching NB play Sudbury I'd go in thinking oh sweet I get to watch a high OHL pick in Coe, then I wouldn't notice Coe and I'd be fixated on someone else and all of a sudden he's absolutely ripped one short side on our goalie, and before I know it Coes got three points on the night and I've maybe noticed him a handful of times, and yet never negatively.

I do not know what that means. To be honest I thought he was a lot lower ranked until I saw him so high on so many lists because in comparison I could never stop watching a less recognized guy like Tanner Dickinson in the Soo (also we have to draft that kid because he's going to breakout and be an absolute steal, think Cirelli, I love his game)

 

[Byron Bitz]

We’re not gonna be able to get one of the top forwards or Dmen in the draft but we can get one of the top goalies with our second round pick. Nico Daws would be great to have as Andersen’s understudy.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

We’re not gonna be able to get one of the top forwards or Dmen in the draft but we can get one of the top goalies with our second round pick. Nico Daws would be great to have as Andersen’s understudy.

None of the goalies after Askarov are worth that 2nd round pick, and when we have Woll and Scott already in the organization, it is a waste. If we want a third option, the 5 goalies coming after Askarov are good value in the 3rd or 4th round, and there are some interesting projects that should be out there in the 5th round or later when we have a boat load of picks.

It's not a good year for goalies.

 

[Byron Bitz]

None of the goalies after Askarov are worth that 2nd round pick, and when we have Woll and Scott already in the organization, it is a waste. If we want a third option, the 5 goalies coming after Askarov are good value in the 3rd or 4th round, and there are some interesting projects that should be out there in the 5th round or later when we have a boat load of picks.

It's not a good year for goalies.

I think both Woll and Scott are long shots to be NHL starters. They will also be ready to move on from the AHL by the time A 2020 draft pick is eligible to play in the AHL so its a good time to draft their future replacement.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I think both Woll and Scott are long shots to be NHL starters. They will also be ready to move on from the AHL by the time A 2020 draft pick is eligible to play in the AHL so its a good time to draft their future replacement.

Fair, but Daws should be in the AHL after next year. A 2nd round goalie shouldn't need ECHL time so he is in a crowded mix with Woll and Scott already there.

Also, Woll and Scott have a better chance of becoming NHL starters than most, if not all, goalies in this draft besides Askarov. These goalies are 3rd round quality at best in a normal draft. If one of Daws, Clang, Commesso, Blomqvist, Garand or Bednar is there with one of our 4ths, then go for it. Otherwise, we can probably get a guy like Bjorklund, Thomson, Tynan, Malik, etc. with a late round pick and they would be decent projects for the Leafs to undertake for 2 or 3 years before putting them into the AHL.

 

[aingefan]

Bit of a random post, but it seems like in the NHL draft, you never see experts saying this team is connected to this player or likes this player. While in other leagues, you see people saying this team likes this player and likely to take him.
Maybe I'm wrong on this, but it doesn't seem to happen.

Your pretty right...the only exception I can think of is right around the draft and the combines, when there are interviews and the like. There’s a few bits here and there around then.